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    #16
    I am wondering if there is a working solution to this problem yet. I still do not have an easy way to monitor my pool and spa water temperature from Homeseer. I would think there would be some type of inline PVC sleeve with a probe that I could glue in-line, and then measure with something like a Fibaro monitor. I am halfway tempted to bite the bullet and purchase a whole pool automation system. On that note, are there any systems that work well with Homeseer?


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      #17
      There are several 1-wire homeseer plugins so you could use this probe.
      Jon

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        #18
        That probe is part of what I am looking for, I already own a similar one from when I was working on this in the past. Problem is I cannot seem to find one that is ready to go for my application. What I seek is a probe like that one, embedded in a PVC sleeve that would be installed at the SPA/POOL pump area, reading the water temperature INSIDE the pool water line..the leads from the probe would then go into a small outdoor cabinet housing a z-wave radio with an application that could read the probe's temperatures and report them to Homeseer. Maybe the PVC sleeve is easier to build on my own than I think, but I would THINK that a fitting like that would need some sort of pressure fitting that would be absolutely reliable. That is the part that I do not know how to do. I have always been surprised at the lack of a commercial solution, barring full out pool automation, to solve this. As an aside, I have done this with the floating Oregon sensors as a hack. It worked ok, but I found the sensors would wear out quickly in the sun and chlorine, and changing the batteries more than once would usually flood the unit, due to the wear on the plastic as stated above. Also, the floats are kind of unsightly.


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          #19
          Something like this http://www.heatmypool.com/solar-heat...kit-p-524.html


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            #20
            We use a standard pool temp sensor. They are incased in rubber, you drill a hole in the PVC pipe and use a gear clamp to hold then in place tightly. We have them interfaced to a insteon I/o unit. Homeseer polls them every 5 minutes. Has worked great for years.

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              #21
              Spa temperature sensor

              Originally posted by JHughes View Post
              We use a standard pool temp sensor. They are incased in rubber, you drill a hole in the PVC pipe and use a gear clamp to hold then in place tightly. We have them interfaced to a insteon I/o unit. Homeseer polls them every 5 minutes. Has worked great for years.

              Totally unfamiliar territory can you link me to a good example? Also what could I actually interface it to? I have both 1-wire, and Z-wave, my preference being the Z-wave network...Thanks!


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                #22
                Either one of the links below, most pool equipment manufactures make a version of the sensor. You can interface them with what ever I/O you are used to. They work just like other temp sensors, variable resistance based upon temperature. Very easy to install in the plumbing for a pool or spa.
                We use the Insteon EZIO8SA, it gives us temperatures in and control of the relays for the pool equipment.


                http://www.amazon.ca/Pentair-520272-.../dp/B001DO18FS

                http://www.smarthome.com/intermatic-...re-sensor.html

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                  #23
                  Thank you for that info. Unfortunately I don't run Insteon. I don't see a Zwave module that I could wire that to.


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                    #24
                    Would something like this interfaced to one of those probes work? http://www.fortrezz.com/index.php/pr...-o-module-mimo


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                      #25
                      Based on what I was able to read from a couple Hayward install manuals, and the manual on the Mimo multi I/o module, this appears to be the correct product. I ordered both the 10K temp probe, and the Fortrezz Mimo module. I will post when I get it all put together later this week how well it works.


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                        #26
                        It should work well for you. I remember getting the math for the correct temp reading was a pain, but once set up, has worked fine for years.

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                          #27
                          I found the conversion we used to get from the raw reading of the sensor to a usable temperature reading. This was done for me by a friend. We have two sensors, air and pool.

                          Sub Main()
                          ' Get all data from temp sensors

                          'RawTempPool=hs.DeviceValueByName"Pool Digital/Analog Pool Temp"
                          'msgbox RawTempPool
                          TempPool=hs.DeviceValue("[15")
                          'msgbox RawTempPool &" - " &TempPool
                          'Convert to Temp of Pool
                          AnalogVoltDataPool = (TempPool / 300)
                          OHMSPool = AnalogVoltDataPool/((24-AnalogVoltDataPool)/330000)
                          TempKPool = (1/((1/298.5)+(1/3400*(log(OHMSPool/10000)))))
                          TempCPool = (TempKPool-273.15)
                          TempCPool = Round(TempCPool,1)
                          TempFPool = ((TempCPool*(9/5))+32)
                          TempFPool = Round(TempFPool,1)
                          TempCPool = TempCPool*10
                          'MsgBox TempC &"C - "&TempF &"F"

                          hs.SetDeviceValueByName "Pool Air Temp", TempCPool-2
                          hs.setdevicestring"V2",CStr((TempCPool-2)/10),True


                          TempAir=hs.DeviceValue("[16")
                          'msgbox RawTempAir &" - " &TempAir

                          'Convert to Temp of Air
                          AnalogVoltData = (TempAir / 300)
                          OHMS = AnalogVoltData/((24-AnalogVoltData)/330000)
                          TempK = (1/((1/298.5)+(1/3400*(log(OHMS/10000)))))
                          TempC = (TempK-273.15)
                          TempC = Round(TempC,1)
                          TempF = ((TempC*(9/5))+32)
                          TempF = Round(TempF,1)
                          'MsgBox TempC &"C - "&TempF &"F"
                          TempF = (TempF)*10
                          hs.SetDeviceValueByName "Pool Pool Temp", TempF
                          hs.setdevicestring"V1",CStr(TempF/10),True

                          End Sub

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                            #28
                            Spa temperature sensor

                            I have made some progress with the Fortrezz MIMOlite device, and the 10K pool temp sensor. I was able to add the MIMOLite into the network with no problems. It also added several devices, one of them being a "general purpose" device. This appears to be the device that reads in1 (input 1) on the MIMOlite. If I poll this device with an ice cube on it I get high 2700 numbers, put it in warm water, and I get low 2600 numbers. I just have to do the conversions. I am working on that part now, admittedly not 100% sure on how to do it, but I am going to try and figure it out. It is looking like this will probably work by polling the device's value, and converting it to the proper temperature value. I am guessing, but I suppose then I will create a virtual device who's value I update with the corrected real temperature value?

                            I had hoped this would be a simple resistance - temp conversion. I found a resistance chart, and clearly the values the MIMO are displaying are out of range for these to be resistance values.
                            http://shop.solardirect.com/pdf/pool...s/rt-chart.pdf

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                            Last edited by fdarden; December 18, 2015, 02:02 PM.

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                              #29
                              Originally posted by fdarden View Post
                              I have made some progress with the Fortrezz MIMOlite device, and the 10K pool temp sensor. I was able to add the MIMOLite into the network with no problems. It also added several devices, one of them being a "general purpose" device. This appears to be the device that reads in1 (input 1) on the MIMOlite. If I poll this device with an ice cube on it I get high 2700 numbers, put it in warm water, and I get low 2600 numbers. I just have to do the conversions. I am working on that part now, admittedly not 100% sure on how to do it, but I am going to try and figure it out. It is looking like this will probably work by polling the device's value, and converting it to the proper temperature value. I am guessing, but I suppose then I will create a virtual device who's value I update with the corrected real temperature value?


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                              I have no experience with that thermistor or the MIMO device but the principle is the same regardless so I will put my two bits in here.

                              The EZIO8SA looks to have '2 digital or analog (0-3VDC)' inputs, they appear to be 10 bit (0-1023). The MIMO device says 'Digital or Analog Input 0 to 16V DC' - it appears that this has a 12 bit ADC resolution.

                              The real surprise is that the MIMO device is non-linear in the ADC sampling, http://www.fortrezz.com/index.php/co...com_jdownloads page 5. Not sure of why this is, perhaps there is an application for it somewhere but I've never seen one behaves like that (not that I am an expert on those matters though).

                              If you were getting 2600 then it looks by eye to be around 3.75V and 2700 could be around 4.5V. My head has gone today but typically for something like a 10K thermistor (and each type will have different characteristics) then the way you work out the temperature from the resistance is with some tables or equations (look at http://www.veris.com/docs/support/fa...Z202030-0N.pdf). I don't know how easy it is going to be to match a non-linear thermistor response to a non-linear ADC input - my guess is not that easy and may involve some calculations and experimentation. It would be much easier if the ADC was linear then you would still potentially just need to amend the calculation (because of the fact you have 0-16V rather than 0-3V).

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                                #30
                                Am I trying to reinvent the wheel here? Somehow I had thought this would be much simpler. From what you are saying, the MIMO might not have been the best choice for this application after all. I think the thermistor is what I need, I just need something to connect it to. I'm wondering if Oregon makes something that I could interface into that thermistor? I have an RFXCOM, and a Zwave network. Short of buying an Insteon transceiver, the plugin, and an Insteon I/O module, how can I let Homeseer know what the temperature of my pool water is?


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